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A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electric lighting, and, more particularly, to a lighting apparatus adapted for installation in a variety of configurations to provide ornamental and decorative illumination.
2. Description of the Background Art
Decorative light strings are widely used in a variety of indoor and outdoor illumination applications such as holiday displays, particularly Christmas displays, festivals, and varied other applications. Conventional decorative light strings typically comprise electrical wires connected to a number of lamp sockets mounted thereon for receiving individual lamps. Since the electrical wires are not rigid, the light strings are typically installed in various configurations relying on fasteners for support. For example, light strings are used to decorate buildings and houses, trees, and countless other structures secured by staples, nails, or adhesive mounting devices. Affixing light strings to various structures using the above-referenced fastening methods has proven time consuming and difficult. Furthermore, it is often undesirable to place nails and staples into walls or other parts of a structure solely for the purpose of supporting ornamental lights often for short periods, such as days or weeks.
As a result of the recognized and inherent disadvantages associated with conventional light strings, others have disclosed various modifications directed to overcoming various disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,547, issued to Crucefix, entitled xe2x80x9cChristmas Tree Lights,xe2x80x9d discloses a light assembly that is limited to use with a conically shaped Christmas tree. The light assembly requires a collar adapted for mounting on the top of the tree, and includes a plurality of light strings, each having an end connected to the collar, which drape down the tree. U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,720, issued to Carroll, discloses an artificial Christmas tree having branches that incorporate electric lights for the illumination of the branches. U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,442, issued to Coco, discloses an ornamental lamp post, adapted by clamping a split sleeve around an outdoor lamp post, so as to include a plurality of radially projecting branches, each of which branches may incorporate multiple electrical lights. U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,801, issued to Sangalli, Jr., discloses a Christmas tree light ring arrangement wherein a plurality of light rings are arranged for mounting about a Christmas tree trunk.
While the illumination devices disclosed in the background art are generally suitable for their intended purposes, the devices are limited to certain intended uses. More particularly, none of the lighting devices of the background art are specifically adaptable for installation in a variety of horizontal and/or vertical configurations and on a variety of structures, such as trees, houses, and other structures. Accordingly, there remains a need for a lighting apparatus adapted for installation in a variety of configurations to provide decorative illumination.
The present invention addresses and overcomes the disadvantages and shortcomings in the art by providing a lighting apparatus having a bendable frame structure adapted for installation in a variety of vertical and/or horizontal configurations to provide decorative illumination. In a preferred embodiment, a lighting apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes an elongate bendable spine member having a plurality of elongate bendable arm members, each having a plurality of electric lambs, connected thereto in spaced relation. The various electric lamps are each connected to electric conductors for receiving electrical power, and electrical connectors (male and female) are provided for connection to an electrical power source and for stringing a number of lighting apparatus together to form larger composite illumination configurations.
The arms and spine member form a frame structure having multiple projecting illuminated arms. The arms and spine member are preferably bendable so as to enable the structure to be shaped into a variety of different configurations. For example, the apparatus may be installed in an operative configuration to decorate trees by aligning the apparatus spine with the trunk of the tree and bending opposing illuminated arms around the trunk such that the trunk is substantially encircled with lights. A plurality of illumination devices may be connected in series thereby forming very large illumination displays. Accordingly, large trees may be decorated by installation of a plurality of illumination devices on the tree trunk and branches. In an alternate configuration, the apparatus may be installed in a horizontal configuration along the roofline of a house or building with the arms configured so as to hang downward to form illuminated display resembling suspended icicles, with a plurality of lighting devices may be connected in series to stretch substantially around the perimeter of the building or structure.
The present invention thus provides a lighting apparatus specifically designed for providing an adaptable illumination structure suitable for use in decorating and illuminating trees, columns, fences, and various portions of residential and/or commercial structures.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved decorative lighting apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adaptable and self-supporting lighting apparatus.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus designed for installation on trees to illuminate the trunk and branches without requiring supplemental fasteners.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.